Mazda has high hopes

After two years of consecutive growth and fresh from winning this year’s Thailand Car of the Year award, Japanese auto maker Mazda needs to extensively expand its dealer network to match increased sales as well as fill new high-potential sales areas in the country.

With sales climbing from 39,471 units in 2015 to 42,537 units in 2016, Mazda, which saw its CX-3 win the coveted award on March 15, is targeting sales of 50,000 units for 2017 for a growth of 18 per cent. By 2020, sales are expected to reach 80,000 units, and help Mazda secure a significant 8-per cent market share in Thailand, said Mazda Sales (Thailand) Co Ltd president Chanchai Trakarnudomsuk.
“Last year Mazda was the only Japanese brand to register growth (8 per cent) while the market fell by 4 per cent,” he said. “Mazda is presently the number 3 passenger car brand in Thailand and the success roots from the regular introduction of new models into the market, and of course the outstanding performance from our SKYACTIV technology.”
After introducing the minor-change versions of the Mazda2 and Mazda3 earlier this year, the company will follow up with the CX-3 minor change and the MX-5 RF foldable hardtop roadster at the upcoming Bangkok International Motor Show that starts at the end of this month. Two more new models are destined for the latter part of this year.
“We have a continuous flow of new products, so our dealers need to have the capability to handle the growth, and be able to catch up with changing customer behavior and their lifestyles,” Chanchai added.
Apart from renovating existing showrooms to new standards within the next two years, Mazda is also looking for new business partners in new sales areas.
“The new showrooms have been very successful, with customer traffic increasing by 2-3 times and sales growing accordingly,” Chanchai said.
Mazda currently has 147 showrooms run by 71 dealers in Thailand, and the company is preparing to expand sales outlets into more urban areas like large districts.
“We are offering the opportunity to existing dealers in the area first, and the goal is to have 20 more showrooms (9 in Bangkok and 11 upcountry) within 2019. And in some major provinces such as Chiang Mai, Nakhon Ratchasima, Ubon Ratchathani and Khon Kaen, we have two dealers in order to create stronger competition.”
Mazda is recruiting investors for the dealership network expansion project, with areas such as Ramindra, Vibhavadee, Rama 9 and Kaset Navamin in Bangkok, as well as high-potential areas in the provinces such as Ayutthaya, Rayong, Ubon Ratchathani and Songkhla.

Mazda sales 2010-2017
Year           Units            % change
2010          35,147            167%
2011          41,980             19%
2012          73,764             76%
2013          52,914            -28%
2014          34,326            -34%
2015          39,341             15%
2016          42,537               8%
2017          50,000 (forecast)  18%